Update on Agency Use of Google Apps: Heartland Google Sites to Be Activated January 26

Heartland has been working hard to enable and integrate Google Apps into our agency’s collaborative tool set. We had some bumps with the transitioning of accounts, and we may experience more unexpected difficulties as we continue to expand the apps available for staff within the Heartland Google Apps domain. We appreciate your patience as we smooth out any rough spots during the transitions.

During the Google account transition process, we received tremendous feedback that Google Sites was one of the most important tools to have available for staff as quickly as possible. We listened carefully to this input and put Google Sites on the fast track for implementation across the Agency.

A Google Site template has been developed and is ready to be implemented. This is where we need your assistance. We cannot integrate the template and configure Google Sites without turning Sites on for the entire domain. Because we cannot devise a way to integrate Sites without turning them on, first we need your cooperation to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Beginning on January 26 we will be activating Google Sites within the Heartland domain. The purpose of this initial period is to configure Google Sites within the domain and to integrate the Heartland template and other back-end technologies into the Google Sites architecture.

During this initial period, we are requesting that you not use existing or create new sites within the Google Sites framework. We hope the transition will be very swift and that integration will be as seamless and trouble free as possible. We cannot project a timeline for integration because we have no way of trying it first. We will have to “do it live” and do our best to minimize any difficulties during the integration process.

Once the integration is complete, we will send out another communication with instructions on how to transition your existing Google Sites into the Heartland domain where necessary and how to access them. At that point you will be free to use and create Google Sites in accordance with the Agency’s guidelines regarding Sites, which will be communicated within the same time frame. We will also provide you with supporting resources such as tutorials and videos in the next communication.

We thank you for your cooperation and assistance with the Google Apps integration. Please rest assured that we are working hard to give you the collaborative tools you need in the shortest amount of time.